


whatever you say, hot lips

by 26stars



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Shield-Free AU, T for innuendo, Travel, Travel in China and Thailand, Trying local food, backpacking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29559423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/26stars/pseuds/26stars
Summary: Daisy has become very set on a particular culinary goal while she and Jemma travel in Thailand together. Obvious outcome is obvious.
Relationships: Jemma Simmons/Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 10
Kudos: 25
Collections: Femslash February, Women of the MCU





	whatever you say, hot lips

**Author's Note:**

  * For [daisylincs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisylincs/gifts).



> Written for Lily's prompt: Skimmons + making/eating curry (you pick which one of them likes spicy food, and deliberately kisses the other one after eating a particularly hot curry)
> 
> Curry was swapped out for another favorite spicy dish of mine. Story inspired by actual events. :) Also fills my femslash bingo square 'betrayal' (but like, in a cute way)

When Jemma had agreed to this post-graduation trip with Daisy, she hadn’t really known what to expect the three months of traveling would do to their relationship. If they came out on the other side still in love, then it was probably a good sign for their future—traveling had a way of bringing out the worst in people, if only because you were removed from your usual comfort setting and dumped into a new one with only your travel companions for support. Still, shared experiences bonded people, and that was the best benefit of traveling together—making good memories that you’d share for the rest of your lives.

Growing up, Jemma had traveled plenty around the continent with her family, and she had done a little bit of sightseeing when she’d first moved to the US to start her studies there, but neither of those prepared her even a little bit for her arrival in Asia. They never would have planned this leg of the trip if it hadn’t been for Daisy’s extended family members in China that had promised them a safe, guided leg of their travels in the Mainland, and Daisy could understand enough Chinese (even if she couldn’t really speak much) that Jemma was content to just trail along and go wherever Daisy and her family wished. She tried plenty of new foods throughout their week in Shanghai and Kunming, and Jemma soaked in all the Chinese culture and enjoyed the tea while Daisy came alive bargaining in shops.

So Jemma had to admit that she may have been lulled into a false sense of security about how easy Southeast Asia would be, expecting them to coast through just like they did in China.

As it turned out, the two nearly-neighboring countries were as similar as apples and oranges. And while Daisy could understand Chinese, that certainly did not mean she could understand a word of Thai.

Jemma, who had done the most personal prep work for their trip, had of course read up on Thailand and their destination cities before the trip—she had been assured that with the booming international tourism industry, most of the essentials would be available in English, and hotel staff would usually be plenty capable of helping English-speaking travelers with directions and booking of tours and rides.

Still, when they landed in Chiang Mai, Jemma couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous, especially when their taxi driver didn’t seem to know more than five words in English and seemed determined to take them to a “better” hostel than the one they’d booked. Daisy, usually Bad Cop in situations like this, put up enough of a fight, threatening (in English) to take a picture of the driver’s dashboard ID and call the listed service number for his taxi line, and thankfully, they made it to their hostel without incident after that. Sure enough, the owner was perfectly helpful, directing them to the city’s world-famous night market for dinner, and once she’d had her first taste of _khao soi_ , Jemma’s excitement for the trip was rekindled.

“Well, I for one am glad we didn’t skip Thailand,” Daisy announced, sipping the mango-passionfruit smoothie she’d ordered with her dinner. Music from a bandstand played somewhere on the other side of the large outdoor food court, and locals and tourists milled around, enjoying their food under the nearly smudged-out stars above them.

“I never doubted you for a minute,” Jemma agreed contentedly.

“How excited are you for our day with elephants tomorrow?” Daisy asked with a smile.

“I might not even sleep tonight,” Jemma admitted, grinning into her coconut smoothie. “I actually can’t wait.”

Taking a hike with elephants as companions was one of the things on Jemma’s bucket list, and their experience the next day fulfilled even her wildest dreams. At their provided lunch, they and the other guests were served a spread of dishes by their hosts, and Daisy was even more excited about the food than the animals.

“I’m certain I never would have tried a bite of green papaya in my life,” she said, taking another bite of the green papaya salad they’d been served, “but this might be my new favorite food.”

“We made it not too spicy,” the hostess said as she put down yet another plate of food on their long table. “Foreigners aren’t usually ready for local spice.”

“I’m half Chinese,” Daisy said quickly, unable to resist saying so.

“Well, they’re not,” the hostess said, gesturing to Jemma and the group of Australians they had been with since the dawn pickup at their hostel. “You want real spice, you’ll have to order it for yourself.”

This became some kind of a challenge for Daisy throughout the rest of their time in Thailand. _Som tum_ (the Thai name for the papaya salad) seemed to be a widely-available dish and was cheap even by Thai standards, and Daisy made a point to order it every time she could get it, always asking for “local spice” level. Jemma, who had been fairly ambivalent about the dish the first time, stayed away from it every time it came to their table after that.

“I don’t think they believed me,” Daisy said after sampling yet another plat of _som tum_. By now, they were in Bangkok and headed to the island of Phuket the next day. “I keep asking for hot, and it’s like they think all foreigners are wusses.”

“Probably not without good reason,” Jemma reminded her, fishing another bite of eggplant out of her bowl of green curry. “I’m sure less-prepared tourists like me have ordered the same thing and been rushed to the hospital.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” Daisy said, smiling coyly. “You sure you don’t want a bite?” She pushed the plate towards Jemma.

“I’m happy to live vicariously through you, thank you very much,” Jemma said with a smile, stealing a drink from Daisy’s smoothie, then making a face. “Ugh, I think I could taste the spice from that dish on your straw, my god…”

It wasn’t until they were on an island off the larger island of Phuket that Daisy finally got her wish. She’d gone to order her own food from one restaurant just off the beach while Jemma sat under an umbrella, slathering on yet another layer of sunscreen. It was January, so the sun wasn’t as strong as it could be, but she wasn’t taking any chances—it was hard enough to carry her large backpack without the straps digging into a sunburn.

“I think I’ve got it,” she announced with a grin, coming back over with a banana-leaf packet in one hand and a plastic package of chopsticks in the other. “I insisted, and then I watched him make it—usually they only put in three chilis if I beg them, but this time he put in eight. He wouldn’t do any more than that even though I begged him…”

“He probably doesn’t want to be an accessory to murder,” Jemma deadpanned. “Did he also warn you not to touch it? They don’t usually offer chopsticks for that…”

“That’s exactly what he said, actually,” Daisy chuckled, sitting down on their towel and eagerly opening up the banana leaf. “And he said if I do touch it with my fingers, then I’d better not touch my eyes or any sensitive areas for the rest of the night.”

“Well, that rules out the plans I had for this evening,” Jemma teased, removing her sunglasses as Daisy opened her packet of chopsticks and dove into her dish. She took a large bite of the slaw, closing her eyes in bliss…

…which lasted for all of three seconds.

“Oh my god.”

Jemma had not stopped laughing even after Daisy had drunk her entire bottle of water and moved on to Jemma’s, not even a little sympathetic for her girlfriend’s predicament.

“That’s what you get!” she declared as Daisy thrust the remaining _som tum_ deep into a plastic bag and stuffed it out of sight. “It’s almost like the locals know what’s good for you…”

“Well, in the name of an authentic Thai experience—" Daisy said, abruptly grabbing Jemma and wrestling her onto her back in the sand. Once she had Jemma pinned, she planted a long kiss right on her lips, one that left Jemma’s lips and tongue burning.

“Oh my god, Daisy, how could you!” Jemma shrieked, shoving Daisy off and grabbing for her water bottle and finding it empty.

“Now we have another shared experience,” Daisy announced, climbing to her feet. “Now let’s go find some smoothies, before my tongue falls off and you reconsider dating me.”

“Already reconsidering it,” Jemma said, climbing to her feet and pushing Daisy playfully. “All right, but you’re buying my smoothie, since I certainly didn’t ask for this…”

“Whatever you say, hot lips,” Daisy said, catching Jemma’s hand and leading her back towards the restaurant.


End file.
